Kyle Sinckler, Jonathan Davies, Garry Ringrose and Josh Navidi are all notable absentees from an expanded 37-man British & Irish Lions squad, Thu 6 May 2021 14.26 BST Bye for now. Those players who performed well in the previous tour and had strong world cups (Farrell, Daly, Vunipola, Lawes and George) were picked on past deeds rather than recent form.2. Thursday 29 April 2021 3:08 pm Ollie Phillips: Why I think Owen Farrell could be left out of the British and Irish Lions squad Ollie Phillips. 11:03am, 22 March 2021. “There’s a lot of factors ... you look at players who have performed for you in the past, and some younger players ... you want to look to improve as the tour goes on.”. But you know what? “To put on that Lions jersey is incredibly special,” said Gatland ahead of the squad unveiling later this week. The man charged with leading the Lions against the world champion Springboks will be unveiled at 12.09pm, 20 minutes before the full squad is revealed. Drop me an email, or a tweet with your thoughts on the selection. Wales centre George North suffered the same knee injury as Launchbury less than a week later to extinguish his hopes of representing the Lions for a third successive tour. The British & Irish Lions Test match against Japan at BT Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday 26 June 2021 for the Vodafone Lions 1888 Cup will continue as scheduled. It would certainly have been interesting to be a fly on the wall in that four-hour selection meeting yesterday. The full squad is below, again: thank you for reading and for commenting, and good luck to all the players selected. Tue 23 Mar 2021 15.33 EDT. British and Irish Lions 2021: Gregor Townsend urges tour solution By Chris Jones BBC rugby union correspondent Last updated on 27 January 2021 27 January 2021 . Arguably the player of the tournament. From the section Rugby Union Hogg, Russell, Van Der Merwe, Sutherland, Fagerson, Watson absolutely all should have been picked for me. So there it is, the British & Irish Lions squad for 2021 is a 37-man affair, rather than the 36 as originally planned. Highlights - Arsenal 0-0 Villarreal (Agg 2-1), Highlights - Roma 3-2 Manchester United (Agg 5-8), 'Devastated' Arteta gives his immediate reaction to Arsenal exit, Solskjaer bemused by Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday fixture nightmare, Rio & Scholes back Arteta to turn Arsenal around despite Europa League exit. Rio & Scholes explain, Xhaka injured in the warm-up by this innocuous challenge, Arsenal v Villarreal - Semi Final, Second Leg, Roma v Manchester United - Semi Final, Second Leg. Not sure about that. Lotta rugby still to be played.”, JonCymru comments: “Gutted for Navidi but pretty sure he’ll be first on the plane if and there always are, injuries in the forwards, they are playing the Boks so it will be a little physical.”, Parrotgone adds: “Not sure Navidi’s omission is much of a surprise. "I would follow him into battle.". Yes, fair, Navidi’s absence is a surprise especially as Gatland was expected to favour dependable Welsh performers ... and Ringrose was widely expected to be on the plane. Courtney Lawes has revealed his shock at making Warren Gatland's 37-man British and Irish Lions squad - then quickly pledged to be fighting fit in time for the South Africa tour. “Once you’ve been selected, once you’ve played for the Lions, that is something that can never ever be taken away from you.”, First Test: South Africa v Lions - July 24, Second Test: South Africa v Lions - July 31, Third Test: South Africa v Lions - August 7. First published on Thu 6 May 2021 11.00 BST. Gatland names Alun Wyn Jones as his 2021 Lions captain . Slade is a player plenty of people would have liked to see have a chance and another England player, Sam Underhill, is probably a bit unfortunate too. From the section Rugby Union. Former Wales skipper and BT Sport pundit Sam Warburton, who led the Lions to victory in Australia in 2013 and to a drawn series with New Zealand in 2017, has backed Maro Itoje to step up as captain. British & Irish Lions breaking news: George North ruled OUT of SA tour The South African 10:44 28-Apr-21 ‘Heartbroken’ George North learns his Lions dream is over The Rugby Paper 10:42 28-Apr-21 George North ruled out of Lions tour by knee injury that requires surgery The42 10:38 28-Apr-21 “Maybe I’m biased, I’m happy to be that, but Danny’s playing as well as anyone at the moment," he told Premiership Rugby. Yet the last team to seriously worry South Africa was Wales in the WC semi, and they had a mobile back row and not the biggest pack. Alun Wyn Jones is the 2021 British and Irish Lions captain. British & Irish Lions squad unveiled for 2021 South Africa tour – live! Follow all the latest news live as the British and Irish Lions’ 37-man squad is announced today. I predict a heavy, heavy 3-0 SA series win, putting Gatland’s well earned reputation as an international coach through a blender, with his future NZ hopes evaporating forever. 1001. However the 29-year-old has not played since tearing his achilles in September and won't have played a single competitive game before Gatland settles on his squad this Thursday. The eyes of the rugby world will be watching later this week when British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland names his 36-man squad for the 2021 tour of South Africa. It’s a balance. A sleepless night for Danny Care, the Harlequins (and former England) scrum-half, hoping to be named in the Lions squad ... Congratulations to everyone selected for @lionsofficial today. WIth question marks around the form of Owen Farrell and fitness of Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton, Smith could well become a British and Irish Lion before he becomes an England interntional. “It’s about understanding what has come before you and the famous players who have worn the iconic jersey and those who will come after you. The British & Irish Lions confirmed they will only play two mid-week fixtures in South Africa on their 2021 tour as they announced their schedule on Wednesday. The picking of Sam Simmonds either suggests that Gatland does not agree with Eddie Jones’ selection history or that he sees the potential for a high impact player who can play across the back row. The uncapped English fly-half has been in fine form for his club side and was unfortunate not to receive a call up to England's doomed Six Nations campaign. Sara Hussain; 29 Apr 2021, 18:04; Updated: 29 Apr 2021… Alun Wyn Jones has been confirmed as the British and Irish Lions tour captain for their 2021 series vs South Africa. There are surprises, I admit it. "I was so impressed with him in 2017," Warburton told BBC Sport. No Ryan, no Sexton will definitely raise a few eye brows in Ireland. Another dilemma for Gatland is the fitness of England centre Manu Tuilagi. Alun Wyn Jones of Wales is captain. “It’s a big blow for the Lions and a big blow for George as well,” said Gatland. I seriously can’t see this strategy working. The names of the players who will be wearing the famous red shirt will be read out from 12.28pm onwards via a live stream on the Lions website. It's not a decision that I've taken lightly, but it's the best decision for my family.". Betting Rugby News. “So by my reckoning...The Welsh are raging about Navidi.The Irish are raging about Ringrose/Ryan.The Scots are pretty happy, though upset about Gray.The English are shocked to see some of their guys selected!”. Keep your phones on. The Lions are regarded as the best of the best and this is the biggest challenge in rugby. Was surprised to see both Price and Harris there too but good luck to all of them!”, Dekenba emails: “Six locks points to Gatland playing one at blind-side, trying to put plenty of muscle out there. Best of luck lads . Who I think SHOULD have gone - CJ Stander, Jamie Ritchie, John Cooney, Johnny Gray, Gary Ringrose, Henry Slade and Josh Navidi.”, Addiemeister comments: “Definitely a few surprises in there! Sinckler-surprise. Manu Tuilagi ? 12 comments I’m not looking forward to the actual rugby.”, “Disappointed not to see Ringrose or Ryan in the squad,” comments DJStrangelove. With North unavailable due to injury the Lions could do with a big ball-carrying threat in midfield and few players in the world possess size and power like Tuilagi. 12:42am, 06 May 2021. South Africa are tentatively beginning preparations for July's British and Irish Lions tour with groups of players to attend "alignment camps" in April. The unique circumstances surrounding the tour means Gatland may well spring a few shocks when he names his initial touring party on Thursday. Is Cavani the answer to United's striker conundrum? Wales & Scotland played attacking rugby in the 6N - and it worked - but Gatland has reverted to his safety-first approach, hence so many English players and muscle being picked. North's injury must've pushed Daly over him for utility. He's surely the epitome of dynamic modern forwards. DeanKBain isn’t feeling positive: “This will not end well. The website of the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa 2021, playing three tests against the Rugby World Cup winning Springboks Youngs' England teammate Joe Launchbury was ruled out of the tour a fortnight ago after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee. Premium feature exclusive to TheXV.Rugby - Free Trial Testing times Are the All Blacks going to do the impossible and play less but make more money? 2021 British & Irish Lions Squad News. 2021 British & Irish Lions Squad News. Rugby Rucker. Jonathan Davies ? Youngs' withdrawal has given Gatland a headache at scrum-half where the Lions are not blessed for talent. I have to say the coverage dragged on a bit, it was pretty tough to watch as a player, you just want to get on with it.”. His league-leading 14 Premiership tries is six more than anyone else in English rugby while he's also in the top five for metres gained. 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